There are numerous articulatable or collapsible stools, carts or trays that have been disclosed in the prior art. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 1,178,597 issued to Owens in 1916. In this '597 patent, a collapsible support can be folded up into substantially an attache case size, and the legs of the support come together and constitute the handles for carrying the support. This collapsible support, while apparently adequate for the purposes intended, is not suitable for use as a mobile work station and, especially, for a variety of individual purposes.
The prior art also includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,993,726; 5,082,301; and 5,190,303 issued to Schumacher et al on Feb. 19, 1991; Jan. 21, 1989 and Mar. 2, 1993, respectively, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In these Schumacher et al patents, a painter's mobile work station (as well as an improved method of painting) are disclosed and claimed, wherein the mobile work station may be folded up and carried to the job site and, thereafter, quickly and easily erected for use on the job. While constituting an important contribution to the art, nevertheless, these patents are basically intended for a single-purpose, namely for interior painting, and are not intended to be quickly adapted for a variety of general-purpose uses.
Despite the numerous items on the market, consisting of folding tables, wheeled carts, serving trays, kit boxes, tool boxes and the like--all of which are basically single purpose items--a definite need exists for a combination tray and wheeled cart that is simple and practical, sturdy, economical to manufacture, versatile and lightweight, and may be conveniently carried to the job site and then quickly and easily erected for a wide variety of purposes.